


Borderline

by skimmingthesurface, SylviaW1991



Category: Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon)
Genre: Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 17:00:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4754072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skimmingthesurface/pseuds/skimmingthesurface, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SylviaW1991/pseuds/SylviaW1991
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wirt’s growl was a soft warning, and Dipper quivered before settling against the door. He gazed at Wirt with a quiet obedience that was really unlike his talkative, determined boyfriend. He almost wanted to tell him to do as he liked, unused to exercising his command over others, but he needed to breathe. Plus, he really didn't want Dipper to be dry-humping him in front of Mabel. That was just... embarrassing.</p><p>--</p><p>As Dipper begins to go into his mating cycle, he knows he needs an alpha to help him through it. And as much as he wants to find his real mate, there's only one alpha on his mind...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

They’d been dating only a few weeks when it happened. It was a subtle change, a gradual strengthening of the omega’s scent. So used to cuddling and being close to one another, the alpha didn’t notice at first. So his boyfriend smelled sweet - he always did, capturing his attention and snaring his instincts like no one else had before.

Unfortunately, there were other alphas in the area and they certainly did take notice. Wirt had found himself scowling at others in the grocery store just that afternoon, shuffling closer to the oblivious omega as he gathered supplies for the dinner they were having with Wirt’s family that night. Oblivious himself, the alpha didn’t quite know why his hackles were raised but when he’d flashed his canines at the checkout girl like a crazy animal, he’d decided it would be in their best interest to go to his childhood home rather than stopping on the way for flowers as Dipper had suggested. Amy did love flowers and he did feel somewhat bad about depriving his mom, but then they got to the house itself.

His fifteen year old brother, too young for a mate but old enough to know what the scent meant, covered his nose entirely. “Wirt, your boyfriend _stinks_.”

Thankfully, Dipper had left the living room to seek out a drink in the kitchen. Wirt still sighed, exasperated. “Don’t say that, Greg. It’s rude, and I think he smells fine.”

“Of course _you_ do. I bet any alpha would - at least the older ones.”

“What are you-? Oh.” Eyes rounded, widened. “Oh-oh.”

“Yeah. Bleh. I’ve never been around an omega at the start of their cycle. Are they all like that?”

“I, uh...” He’d never really been around omegas during their cycles either. Other alphas would surround the ones that were unclaimed, arguing over them, getting into fights. Wirt had a tendency to cover his nose and scurry by. At least the omegas enjoyed the attention and, supposedly, they enjoyed their heats.

Would Dipper? How many cycles had his boyfriend gone through? Was he one of the omegas who sought to entice and cajole, displaying their impending desires proudly? Or would he watch quietly and select his mate with a small smile and crook of his finger?

The idea of it, the idea of Dipper looking at another alpha who wasn’t _him_ had him growling, the sound rusty from disuse. Greg’s snickering had color stealing back into his face. “Hush, Greg. Not a word.”

“Lips are sealed, brother o’ mine!” It lasted about a second. “So are you going to, y’know, claim him?”

“Oh, god.”

“What? You like him! I’m pretty sure you guys haven’t spent a full day apart from each other since you met him, mom and dad like him, and Mabel! Those are all extremely important things.” He gasped, shooting off the couch and flailing his hands in excitement. “Are you gonna pup him?!”

Wirt went pale as death, then quickly made his escape.

And apparently the gods were laughing at him because his escape was its own form of torture, his boyfriend’s scent smacking him right in the instincts. How had he managed to miss this? How had he not realized that his boyfriend was going into heat?

 _His_ boyfriend was going into heat, and he didn’t even seem to notice. Casually pouring soda over ice, chatting with his mom like there was nothing at all earth shattering happening. Wirt wanted him like he’d never wanted another thing in his entire life, taking an unsteady step closer to him as the scent of unclaimed territory both aroused and offended.

As often as they cuddled and nuzzled and kissed, he’d expect some trace of himself on the omega. But there was nothing. There wasn’t even the scent of a previous alpha from the other heats Dipper had surely gone through. When did omegas begin cycling? He wasn’t sure suddenly, mind shooting off in dozens of directions that revolved around one, single person.

There was only Dipper and the sweet, sweet sound of his whimper ringing in Wirt’s ears.

Wait.

Wirt’s body tensed, eyes widening as his mouth lifted from Dipper’s neck. He hadn’t even realized he’d crossed the room, banding his arms around the omega’s waist and sinking his teeth ruthlessly into the skin of his neck to stake a visible claim. He licked his lips, shocked by himself. Dipper’s gaze, when he finally chanced meeting it, was half-lidded. Pink dusted his cheeks and that intoxicating scent was dripping with lust. Wirt’s eyes deepened, reddened, and Dipper’s body went pliant, submissive as his eyes flickered with gold.

“Honey, as happy as I am that you’ve found an omega who catches your attention, I would appreciate it if you didn’t attempt to knot your boyfriend in my kitchen. You should go to your own house for that.”

Wirt immediately wanted to die, color shooting into his face, even the tips of his ears going red as his gaze jerked back to its normal shade. He stared at his boyfriend, swallowing hard. He’d forgotten his mother’s presence entirely, and Dipper seemed to have done the same. His gaze flicked to Amy and back, teeth sinking into his lip.

“I... I, um...” Wirt tried.

“I-it’s... It’s fine,” Dipper breathed, straightening.

****

\----

****

It was not, in fact, fine. Nothing was fine. Dipper hated his life. He popped the last of a fourth donut into his mouth, gaze studying the box in search of the next. The week since Wirt had shown off the fact that he was, in fact, an alpha had been nothing but torture. His scent was at its peak now, wafting from him so much that even he noticed and his sister consistently complained.

She hadn’t complained during his previous heat or the one before that, but those had been more mild. The first two normally were, controllable with injections and very, very, very regular masturbation, but the third? The third demanded a mate and Dipper was still, for all intents and purposes, unclaimed. It made going anywhere an adventure, that was for sure, and he couldn’t manage to go anywhere with Wirt. The man growled at everything that looked at him. He’d growled at Greg when the kid had patted his knee in teasing sympathy for his plight.

It didn’t help that Dipper’s instincts were a jumbled mess. He was annoyed at Wirt for being ridiculous and predatory, but every rumble of warning or flash of those red eyes made him want to settle obediently into his arms and sink down onto his-

“Hey, Dipper.”

He tensed. It wasn’t another alpha, thank god, but Jason freaking Funderberker wasn’t an altogether welcome face either, especially not with the way he was sniffing the air. Sniffing _Dipper_. He shoved the better part of a donut into his mouth to avoid having to greet him in return and encourage conversation, but ended up nearly choking on it.

“You... you smell like a virgin,” he snickered, hands lifting to cover his mouth.

Dipper shot up from the park bench so fast, he startled the ducks he’d been flicking pieces of donut at, coughing on his most recent bite. Glare rendered decidedly ineffective, cheeks puffed, he somehow didn’t die. “Shut up, Funderberker, oh my god.”

“S-sorry,” he giggled, managing not to sound sorry at all. “I just- I’m not used to other omegas smelling like... like virgins. You’re supposed to be on your fourth by now, right?”

God, why did omegas always have to talk about their cycles like this? Dipper had always tended to avoid the uncomfortable topic when he’d run across it, shying away from fellow omegas who were going through theirs. How he wished people would avoid him in the same way, but he couldn’t even sit on a freaking bench in the middle of the stupid day and - oh, no, he was tearing up.

Dipper grabbed his box of remaining donuts and fled. No, no, no. Hormones, why, no, he was so not ready for hormones. They came with the need for food, though, the omega shoving the rest of the donut in his mouth as he made his way home. Slamming open the front door, he nearly barrelled right over his sister.

“Aww,” she cooed. “Did somebody hurt your feelings, bro-bro?”

“Oh my god, I hate this.” He pushed past her, heading to the couch so he could eat his ridiculous amount of carbs in peace. Carbs and sugar to prepare his body for the lack of nutrition and energy burn that was to come in just another two weeks. Two more weeks of dealing with hormones and not being able to walk down the street without getting accosted and how was he supposed to survive this?

Mabel sat beside him, so he slid down until his head could be pillowed in her lap. “Funderberker.”

“Oh my gosh. How many times do I have to tell you Jason’s harmless? You haven’t liked him since we moved here.” 

Pouting, he munched on a sugary donut and let powder rain on her skirt in childish retaliation.

“Rude.” She pushed her hair back and pet his soothingly. As much as she was aware of his cycle, her own alpha instincts tuned well, he was still her twin and the affection came in the form of a tug to his curls and giggles when he pinched her arm. “What’d he say?”

“That... that...” He mumbled it, her brows rising.

“What?”

“I smell like a virgin.”

She snorted. “Well, yeah. Not that you are. You’ve had-” Her eyes widened when his averted, and she took a deep breath. Then another just in case her nose wasn’t working as well as she thought it was. There was nothing. Not a single past imprint. “You haven’t?!” He continued eating, mouth too full to respond, and she had to bite back her giggles. “So during this cycle...”

He swallowed. “Maybe I can just get injections again. I mean, I need some to avoid getting pupped anyway. And then, y’know, lose it like a normal freaking person and not... ugh.”

“You can't! This is so romantic!” she squealed and he grabbed his hat from where it had fallen to the side to pull it back onto his head and low over his eyes. “You want your real mate!”

“Shut up. Shut up, oh my god, please shut up.”

She squealed again, her bouncing jarring him enough that he rolled onto his other side to use the armrest as a pillow instead, hugging the steadily emptying box to his chest. “I mean, it’s not- I’m not- I just- Oh my god.” Normal freaking omegas found their partners for cycle by this point, only changing their minds in the days before if they stumbled across their real mates. Why that scent was only truly recognizable with only days to spare was beyond Dipper, but the recognition was said to be immediate and intense and, okay, maybe he did want that a little bit. A lot.

It was bad enough that he was a borderline omega, his cycles out of sync. He’d had no idea this one was coming on until Wirt had bit a hickey into his neck without so much as a “hi.” But to actually try to find his real mate was ridiculous, especially in a town as small as this one. If Wirt wasn’t mad by Dipper’s intentional distancing by the time his need for a mate became imminent, he would absolutely tug the alpha into his bed. He’d already dreamt about it, awakening more than once with skin slicked with sweat and his sheets embarrassingly wet.

At least that stopped when the emotional eating kicked in, his body incapable of physical arousal so his mind could focus on storing fat and seeking a mate. The best of the best.

“I hate this, Mabel.”

“I know. But it’ll all be over soon, right?” When he only sighed, she smiled. “You want grilled cheese?”

He glanced at her, lips forming a pout just before he bit into his eighth donut. “Yeah.”

She patted his side before hopping up. “Okay. I’ll go make you some grilled cheese, virgin.”

He kicked at her half-heartedly, the promise of food keeping him in place even as he reached for the ninth donut. Maybe he could get her to scramble eggs if he behaved.

****

\----

****

Dipper didn’t want to leave the house. There were only days left, but he only wanted to stay curled up on the couch or in bed or anywhere that was safe and familiar and home. No, he really wanted to curl up _with_ someone but leaving the house had become a chore. A depressing one at that, the scents outside of his house overwhelming with alphas absolutely losing their minds when he came within ten feet of them.

He reeked of need. Worse, he reeked of innocent need. Unclaimed, untouched - he was a high priority for a group that strived for dominance at all times.

It made him nervous, the arguments over who would bed him unnerving, and so he hid in his house and hated life. He picked up his phone, fingers hovering over the keys as he hesitated over texting the man he hoped still thought of him as a boyfriend after two weeks of calculated separation.

 _If you’re not mad at me, will you call?_ was eventually sent and it was nearly thirty agonizing minutes before his screen lit up. He answered with a hiccup instead of hello, the very real fear of rejection cutting him down with the hormones still bubbling under the surface and churning in his gut.

“Dipper?”

He bit his lip. “H-hi.”

There was a pause. “Are you... are you crying?”

Dipper hung up. Then gasped at himself and fell back, sprawling fully across his bed before dialing. “Sorry, I- Sorry. I’m- It’s the- y’know, it’s the hormones, man.” He wiped at the tears, focusing on the fact that Wirt had answered and didn’t seem mad. “Sorry.”

“I thought those depleted some once you... found your mate.”

Something about Wirt’s voice calmed him, despite the alpha's unhappy tone, Dipper hugging a pillow and pretending it was him. He’d missed clinging to and cuddling with him, missed the taste of his lips. Oh, he missed Wirt more than he'd imagined. “Yeah, but you have to find a mate,” he murmured, more focused on listening for Wirt’s breaths than on what he was admitting.

At least until his boyfriend wheezed. “You... You haven’t yet?”

“No because I want you,” he heard himself say, voice lower than he meant to pitch it. “I keep thinking about you, Wirt. I want you. I wanted you before this started, and I still do.” And if Wirt wasn’t the lasting, permanent relationship Dipper craved, at least he was someone safe, someone trustworthy. “I... I know it's not fair to ask. We've only been dating a few weeks and...”

“No! No, it's- I mean, it's fine. I've just- I've never been with an omega through their cycle, so...” Wirt cleared his throat. “I know what... At least I have a good idea of what you need. Besides the, um...”

Dipper found himself smiling. “Knot.”

“Y-yeah.”

“So... you'll do it? I know it's a lot to ask, and you've got to be at least a little angry with me. I'm... I just thought... I didn't want to just assume you'd want to just because we're dating and...” He'd wanted to at least try to find his true mate, but it wasn't going to happen if he couldn't safely leave the house.

Wirt sighed quietly. “I- I'm not mad at you. Really. Heat’s kind of... different. I wish you'd told me it was about to happen, but-”

“I didn't know.”

“What?”

“I didn't know it was about to happen, Wirt. My cycle’s... It kind of does it's own thing.”

“Oh. Um. I... why? If- if that's not too personal or...”

“Wirt, I just asked you to be my alpha. I think you're allowed to ask questions.” He rolled onto his side, curling up. “I'm, um, borderline, and that makes things a little... out of sync. This is... It's only my third.”

“So... so your first with...”

“Yeah. I want you to be my first.” In more ways than one, but he wasn't entirely comfortable admitting that over the phone. “So... you doing anything for the next week or...?”

“No. Or at least I wasn't. Um. I mean, yes. Yes, I'll be your alpha.”

He blew out a relieved breath, latching onto a pillow to hug close. “Uh. So this is going to sound stupid. If you're not busy, will you come over now? I've seriously missed you. This whole cycle thing sucks.” It wasn't necessarily a smart thing to do, but Dipper was craving contact. And pizza. Two pizzas. “We could eat. Have an actual date.”

“Okay, yeah. I've- I've really missed you too.”

****

\----

****

He almost couldn’t breathe, pulse hammering the moment Dipper opened the door. His scent was too strong, so he tried breathing through his mouth instead. “H-hi.”

“Hey. Um. Hi. I ordered pizza. I know you like basically all the... the...” Color flooded Dipper’s cheeks as he stepped back, but he faltered, grip tightening on the side of the doorframe. “Oh my god.” He reached out, fingers curling into his sweater to yank him close, nose burying into the curve of his neck. He breathed him in, a little noise caught in the back of his throat. 

As the alpha’s scent filled him, it was like an electric current coursed through his veins. For the first time in weeks, he felt the stirrings of arousal. It was still days too early for it, but he very much wanted to rut against him and bring him whatever pleasure he could manage. He wanted to give Wirt everything he could manage. Anything he wanted. It was like a wave of pure submission and absolute trust crashed into him, Dipper's body simply going limp.

Wirt grasped his hips, eyes wide. “Dipper!” he gasped, inhaling his scent by accident, and was instantaneously hard. Instantly aching to take and take and keep safe from anyone who came near him. As it had been the entire week after realizing Dipper was going into heat, the alpha was ready to announce his claim to anyone who came close.

He caught Dipper’s lips in a bruising kiss, backing him into the house. He spun him once they were inside, using his back to close the door. Pressing close, he trapped the omega and swallowed his desperate whimpers. Now. Right now. He wanted Dipper immediately, eager to imprint his scent on him and override anyone else who may have had him before.

A voice from the living room couch called out, “You know if you knot him now, you'll just hurt him.”

He almost didn't hear Mabel, blood rushing between his ears, but he threw a glare over his shoulder. When his eyes flashed red, so did hers. “Wirt, you know I don't want to take him from you. Just take a deep breath, though, and try to tell me he's ready for you.”

If her scent hadn’t been so close to Dipper’s, he may not have listened to her. As it was, he struggled to clear his mind enough to properly take in the scent of the omega busily licking and nipping his neck. He was tinted with lust, but only shades of it. There weren't any physical displays, Wirt frowning as he remembered. He was close, too close to heat to manage it. Stretching him would be impossible, his knot likely to tear him apart. Knowing that didn't diminish his own arousal, though, especially not with Dipper palming him through his slacks.

But if he was going to be Dipper’s alpha, he needed to be calm. He needed to be able to put the omega’s needs before his own. His fingers curled around Dipper’s wrists so they could be pressed to the door, but his hips began to rock instead. How on earth did a virgin know so well what would drive him wild?

Wait. A virgin? Unclaimed, sure, but completely virginal?

Wirt’s growl was a soft warning, and Dipper quivered before settling against the door. He gazed at Wirt with a quiet obedience that was really unlike his talkative, determined boyfriend. He almost wanted to tell him to do as he liked, unused to exercising his command over others, but he needed to breathe. Plus, he really didn't want Dipper to be dry-humping him in front of Mabel. That was just... embarrassing.

Wirt dropped his lips to Dipper’s neck, tongue and teeth working at the pulse point to best draw out his scent. When his bruising attentions broke the skin, Dipper released an animalistic whine that did nothing to curb the arousal still pulsating between Wirt’s legs. So the omega liked to be bit. Oh, boy.

Focusing on the task at hand, the alpha took a deep breath. The drop of blood he'd drawn provided him with the most intimate access to everything that was Dipper Pines. Untouched. His breath caught, and he pressed closer. Dipper was completely untouched.

And he was his.

Wirt lifted his head to stare at him, understanding why Dipper seemed to have lost himself. Finding a real mate was a shock to the system, obedience the automatic way for omegas to endear themselves to their alphas. Instinctively, they presented themselves as pliant, submissive, and in need of protection. Wirt left his hands on the door to frame his face, thumbs caressing in gentle circles. He still wanted to take him, but he wanted to wait. However aware he was, the display was working. He knew Dipper was strong, stubborn, loud, but Wirt wanted to protect him. Wirt wanted to tuck him in bed, safe and sound, and touch him reverently. His. His, his, his.

“Dipper,” he sighed, laying his lips onto his omega’s.

Dipper answered with an eager sound of acceptance, arms wrapping around his neck. When Wirt didn't immediately take the reigns to deepen the kiss, he squirmed a little. A good omega would wait, take what was given, and be satisfied. At least one as close to their heat as Dipper. Being borderline, and soothed by Wirt’s clear acceptance, he curled his fingers into the fabric of his sweater and deepened it himself, lips parting on a greedy noise.

He'd enjoyed kissing Wirt from the start, his boyfriend’s taste unique. The press of his body warm and somehow familiar. He knew why now, and was fairly embarrassed for not realizing it sooner. 

Oh, well. Knowing they were meant made the kiss sweeter. It made the gentle fingers on his face and the length of his body more welcome than anything had before. He'd be his first, his only. Omegas pined for little else, and here he was.

When the kiss ended, he felt more like himself. Giddy and bubbling with love and discovery, but himself. “Okay. Okay, wow.” He searched Wirt’s face for any signs of annoyance or distress, but found only awe. His grin flashed and he bobbed to his toes to rub their noses together. “So you're my alpha. My real mate.”

Wirt nodded, his hands roaming down Dipper’s sides just to feel him. He nuzzled his neck again, inhaling the scent of his joy and his own echoed the emotion. The need for a real mate wasn't nearly as dire for alphas as for omegas, but Wirt had always been the romantic sort. The idea that there was an omega out there, one who would recognize him by scent alone, had always been an appealing one. That it was someone he already cared for, someone he'd been thinking about and worrying over since he'd first gone into his cycle, had him smiling brightly. “Yeah. Yes. I'm yours, Dipper. And you're mine. I wasn't really expecting that to-”

“He is?!” Mabel squealed, and Dipper's color rose. 

“Mabel! Oh my god.” Dipper nudged Wirt back, latching onto his hand to tug him towards the dining room. “I'm sorry about her, seriously. I told her to go away, but she's...”

“An alpha whose twin is going into heat. Pretty late for his third, too.”

“I know, I know. It's still mortifying that she won't go away, y’know? It's not like you were going to come over here and try to take me or... oh. Wait.”

Wirt cleared his throat. “Yeah, um. Still having trouble not doing that, actually.”

The color that had just begun fading rose again, deepening a shade. He ducked his head, fiddling with one of the pizza boxes on the table. “I... I'm sorry. You know I can't really do anything yet, and, I mean, I'm not even that cute right now, so I don’t get it. Well, the scent, obviously, but-”

“It's not just the scent. You still smell the way you always do. It's just stronger. I've always liked the way you smell.” Wirt banded his arms around Dipper’s waist, hands laying on the stomach that had been flat and lean the last time he'd seen him. It was slightly rounded now, but it was far from unattractive. During the next week, Dipper wouldn't eat unless fed, wouldn't drink without having a cup held to his lips. It was an important part of the cycle, just another sign of their impending link. Dipper would always smell of Wirt after this, whether in cycle or not the imprint would be made.

Smiling, the alpha dropped his lips to his boyfriend’s neck. “And you're very cute. I love you, Dipper. A little pudge won't change that.”

Dipper made a soft sound, Wirt so focused on his scent that the tears filling it had him blinking. “Oh. Oh, no. Did I say something wrong? Are you okay?”

“Oh, god, I'm sorry. I'm not- You know I don't do this. Hang on. Just hang on.” Wirt clung to him, Dipper's hands laying over his, their grip tight as he composed himself. “I hate hormones,” he mumbled, eventually turning in Wirt’s arms to reach for a proper hug.

“It's okay. It's alright.” Wirt rubbed his back soothingly. “Whatever I said, I'm sorry.”

“No, it's-” He huffed and squirmed against him. That was more the Dipper Wirt was accustomed to. “This is why I don't cry. It's so confusing to cry when I'm happy. You said you loved me.”

Wirt's eyes widened. “O-Oh.”

“Oh?” Dipper echoed, and Wirt had to backtrack quickly when his eyes filled again, and his expression wasn't anywhere near happy.

“I do! I do. Really, I do. I just didn't realize- I can't believe I said it like _that_. Like-”

“Like it's normal?” Dipper mumbled, dropping his damp gaze to the hands plucking at Wirt's sweater, fingers playing over his racing heart.

“Sort of?” Wirt rested his brow to Dipper’s, nudging his ball cap to the side. “You know I have better words, and you deserve poetry. It just slipped out, but it's very true. I've been driving myself crazy, thinking you weren't talking to me because you'd found a mate. I thought I wasn't good enough for you.”

“I... I was trying to find my real mate,” he mumbled, “and I knew if you were around me, I wouldn't be able to concentrate. And if- if it wasn't you, I didn’t want to see your face when I left you.” Dipper lifted his gaze, but not his head, teeth worrying his lower lip. “But even then, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. You have no idea, man.”

Wirt nudged his nose to Dipper’s brow until his head lifted, then pressed their lips together. “‘At last, when all the summer shine that warmed life's early hours is past, your loving fingers seek for mine and hold them close - at last - at last!’” he quoted. “I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, either. I've missed you, Dipper.”

His nerves faded into a small smile and he drew him in for a second, not nearly so brief kiss.

****

\----

****

The next few days were busy, preparations usually long since taken care of being dashed together thanks to the last minute selection of his alpha. A house had to be picked for them to essentially hole up in for what could be up to two weeks and then it needed to be stocked properly as neither would be able to leave. Wirt because leaving Dipper alone would be cruel and unsafe, Dipper because he physically wouldn’t be able to make himself. As long as he was comfortable in the house, his instincts would keep him safe within its walls.

Which, with selecting Wirt’s house as he lived alone and making Mabel move to a hotel for those weeks was rude, meant them moving in together. So the alpha’s scent wouldn’t totally overpower him, no matter that Dipper couldn’t seem to get enough of it, his bed was brought over and Wirt’s shifted to the guest room. Having something that smelled so strongly of the omega helped Wirt’s instincts as well, cementing Dipper’s belonging in his home and encouraging him to stay.

Not that he wanted to leave anyway. Dipper was a warm, cuddling bundle in sleep with a peculiar need to have the bed pushed up against one wall. He slept on the outside as if he was protecting Wirt, which was almost laughable considering their roles, but it was too sweet for the alpha to complain and he really didn’t mind. It could have something to do with him being borderline, after all, which was another peculiar thing.

What on earth was he supposed to do with a borderline omega? As Dipper’s appetite decreased and his reluctance to leave bed grew, Wirt began to realize that he didn’t quite have all the tools he needed for this. Sure, he knew what an omega needed as far as the basics went and, well, instinct would handle a lot of the rest, but a borderline? They were different and he needed to know just how different before the whole thing turned into a mortifying debacle. The alpha who couldn’t take care of his omega. His real mate.

Oh, boy.

At least on the morning Dipper woke up with no desire to even look at food, he had an opportunity to ask someone while his boyfriend huffed and pouted over the injections he was receiving. Difference one seemed to be a need for an IV bag, introducing a stronger strain of the medication that would keep him from being pupped during his heat because neither of them were nearly ready to deal with that. Neither of them really thought they would ever be ready for that, but one heat at a time.

“Do _not_ pull the needle out of your hand.”

Dipper squirmed on the couch, burrowing against the cushions to glare at everything. “Fine.”

“I mean it.”

“Fiiiine,” he whined, not altogether inclined to heed the warnings of another omega. Even if that omega was his great-uncle and well-versed in dealing with cycles. He really only wanted to go back to bed and curl up against Wirt, breathing in his scent.

Instead, he had to settle for soothing words from him and a promise that he'd stay close. Ugh. He fidgeted, personality warring with instinct. He would normally sit there, knowing and understanding the importance of the injections. But instinct made sitting there a chore, the chemicals unnatural and unwanted. “If I'm going to be trapped here, at least grab me the remote?”

“Dipper, you aren't trapped. You’re perfectly capable of moving just as long as you don't remove the needle.”

He felt trapped, so ignored his grunkle to pout at Wirt. It wasn’t fair to play on the alpha’s instincts, but it also wasn’t fair that he was being forced to endure injections and another omega in space his own instincts screamed were reserved for him and his very, very soon to be mate. So he pouted, rubbing his cheek against the couch as pitifully as he could. “Will you get me the remote, please?”

Wirt couldn’t say no to him on the best of days when they’d first started dating, let alone when he actually, actively tried to appeal to him. He tried to ignore Stanford’s eyes on him as he fetched the remote from one of the end tables, though his cheeks burned. The urge to protect and provide for Dipper coursed through him, made only more intense the more he settled into his home. Wirt placed the remote on the couch within easy reach of his omega, then lightly tugged on the bill of his cap in an attempt to warn him against using these tactics to his advantage, though it was playful and halfhearted at best. 

Dipper laughed, catching his hand to keep it off his hat, and pressed a kiss to the palm. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, well, maybe the more comfortable you are, the more likely you’ll be to actually behave yourself,” Wirt replied, the light tickle of his lips against his skin sparking the urge to replace his hand with his mouth and kiss him until neither of them could think straight, overwhelmed by the scent of the other, but he refrained, extremely conscious of the scent that belonged to neither of them still in the room with them. Not to mention the IV and the fact that he still knew very little about how to care for Dipper during his heat. He stroked his cheek to distract himself from it. “Please behave yourself,” he requested. 

A normal omega this close to the mating part of their cycle would obey without question, lying down and pining quietly. But Dipper still had enough of himself to fight what didn’t feel natural. But his boyfriend had gotten him what he’d wanted and was so close, so he leaned into the touch with a sigh. The sooner he complied, the sooner his grunkle would be out of the house. “I will. I won’t like it, but I will.”

“Wirt,” Ford interrupted and Dipper’s compliance melted into another pout, “I’d like to speak to you in the kitchen if I could.”

Wirt couldn't help rubbing over his lower lip with his thumb, as if he could erase the pout, before letting his hand fall away. “Yeah, of course,” he agreed easily enough, the questions he had bubbling under the surface enough to get him to leave Dipper's side.

Dipper had to bite back a whine - something high and needy that would get his alpha right back at his side. Maybe pushing him onto his back and climbing atop him, rutting against him until-

The omega hummed quietly to himself instead of letting out the whine, enjoying his fantasy much more than the midday soap operas the TV flicked onto. Nose wrinkling, he switched to a true crime program and fell onto his side to hug a couch pillow in lieu of his boyfriend while Ford trapped him in the kitchen.

The much older omega checked the contents of the fridge, nodding to himself as he went through his mental checklist. “So I’m sure you’ve been with an omega through their cycle before, but-”

“I uh…” Wirt cleared his throat, pointedly looking at and examining the toaster instead of Stanford. “I haven’t actually. This’ll be my… first.”

That gave him pause. “Ah. Well... that may be a good thing, actually. Dipper isn't quite like other omegas, so it's likely better for both of you that you won’t necessarily be going into this with expectations he won't be able to meet. Most alphas tend to be very interested in the mindless obedience, which Dipper clearly doesn't exhibit.” A brow rose. “Though you seem content enough to enable him.”

The matter-of-fact way Ford spoke, straight to the point and clinical, prevented Wirt from being so completely flustered by having this conversation with his soon-to-be-mate’s great-uncle. He was at least able to look at him. “Should I not be?” he asked with a shrug. “I just want him to feel comfortable. Like he’s free to be himself and… and I want to take care of him. Not just any omega. So, yeah, I don’t have any expectations as far as he’s concerned, but I do want to know… what should be expected of me in this case? I don’t really know anything about… borderline and what comes with that territory.”

“Hm. Really, it's much the same. You'll still need to take care of him, make sure he drinks water everyday. Food won't be necessary. The boy has an appetite even when not cycling.” Ford shook his head, smile fond. “This isn't typically taught, but if you like to be clean I'd suggest bathing at most every other day. Daily would dilute the scents too much.

“But differences lie in Dipper's mentality. He'll actually have one that isn't blind instinct. I wouldn't expect it the first day, but after that he should at least be semi-aware of himself.”

“Okay, so, after the first day he’ll be able to tell me what he does and doesn’t like? How he’s feeling? More or less.” Hearing that the difference was in mentality came as a relief. Dipper’s mind was much of what had captivated Wirt, though his scent and appearance were also strong advocates for his love that he appreciated very much, his mind was what made Dipper _Dipper_. It was reassuring to hear that he wouldn’t necessarily lose that during the heat. 

“I'm not entirely certain, but more or less seems apt enough. All borderlines are different and this is his first with a mate. That could work for or against you.” Ford leaned against the counter, humming to himself. “There’s also a slight anatomical difference in borderlines that I suppose you'll need to know. He can knot.” He laughed when Wirt’s eyes widened, waving a hand. “He can't pup you, for god’s sake. It's just... there. So if you switch, I suppose, don't let that surprise you.”

“I- oh, um- okay. Thanks for the- the heads up.” Wirt swallowed, uncertain why - as an alpha - even the idea of being knotted was at all appealing and made his stomach twist itself into… knots, but not in an unpleasant way. He’d have to reflect on what that meant later, it just wasn’t something he’d ever expected. 

“Of course. I think that's all. You know not to leave him alone for more than five minutes at a time, and the other basics. Hm. You'll still need to eat, of course, so make him drink then. Just try not to let your enabling get in the way of actually taking care of yourself.”

“I’ll try and find ways to remind myself.” Wirt nodded, wringing his hands together. “I think it’ll help to keep in mind that I can’t take care of him if I’m not taking care of myself.” His gaze drifted towards the living room, already feeling a tug in his gut, instincts demanding to be back in Dipper’s vicinity despite knowing logically that he was right where he left him, pouting most likely, but still fine. 

“Alright.” He'd been around enough pairs that he recognized Wirt’s distraction. “If you don't have any other questions and can ensure that he takes the entire IV, I think I'll go. If any issues arise during the next week, be sure to call me.”

“Right. Yes, of course.” Wirt straightened, giving him his full attention once more, alert with the notion that there might be issues. He hoped there wouldn’t be. He hoped he could handle this. “Thank you, Mr. Pines. I’ll make sure he takes the whole IV and I won’t leave him alone for more than five minutes. Um. What- what sort of issues might come up, exactly? I mean, aside from the typical refusing to eat or drink kind of things. Is there something in particular I should look out for that’s borderline specific?”

“Normally, I'd caution you over him trying to leave. Some borderlines find the instinct to stay in one place distasteful, but with you being his real mate and Dipper not fighting the other steps of the cycle, you shouldn't have that problem.” Ford straightened, but paused. “And don't knot him the first day. His body will take a little longer to adjust for it.”

“Okay.” Wirt pursed his lips, hoping that it would be just as easily done as said. He really didn’t know what to expect from any of this, but he did know he wouldn’t let himself hurt Dipper. “Okay,” he said again, firmer, as he started to lead Ford out of the kitchen for him to check on the omega on the couch once more before leaving. 

“Alright, Dipper, I'm leaving. Keep the needle in your hand.”

Again, instinct warred with personality. Normally, Dipper would've encouraged his grunkle to stay, but his scent was offensive when all he wanted was Wirt. He looked up, gesturing with the hand the needle was in. “I didn't take it out. I'm not an idiot.”

“This time,” he teased. “Now, Dipper, listen to your alpha. He knows what's best for you.”

“I know.” He sat up, searching for Wirt, lips curving when he found him. “I trust him.”

Drawn to him, instinct working in favor with what he wanted, Wirt went to his side and leaned in to press a kiss to those curved lips, then another just under his jawline, welcoming his scent and the way it so plainly revealed that he was his. Dipper was his omega, and he was his alpha. He’d do what was right by him. “Good,” he praised him quietly with his own little smile as he eased back. “And just for the record, I trust you, too.”

For that, Dipper didn’t have an internal battle. All of him was pleased with his boyfriend’s attention. “Are you almost done doing stuff that isn't cuddling with me?”

He huffed out a laugh. “Give me one minute so I can see your great-uncle out, then I’m all yours.”

“You're always all mine.” He grinned. “See you, Grunkle Ford.”

“Mmhm. In about a week or two, I'm sure.”

True to his word, after Wirt saw Stanford to the door and bid him farewell, thanking him once again for his insight and advice, he nestled himself on the couch right up against Dipper. He nuzzled the crook of his neck with a pleased sound as his arms wrapped around his boyfriend’s middle to drag him close, eyeing the hand attached to the IV to make sure it stayed in place. “Keep the needle in,” he teased.

“Oh my god. I took it out during my first cycle and now he won't let me forget it.” But Dipper didn't have the attention span to hold onto annoyance now that he finally had Wirt close. Just him with no other scents in the way. The way Ford’s lingered was an affront to his instincts, made him want to burrow as close as possible and cling to what was his. “I'll be so glad when this is over.”

“You’re hanging in there.” Wirt pressed a kiss to his neck, inhaling deeply. “Everything will be back to normal soon enough- well, not everything. Almost everything,” he amended, still buzzing with the knowledge that Dipper was his real mate. 

“I'm okay with you being part of my new normal. I'm very okay with that.” Dipper ducked his head to capture Wirt’s lips, fingers curling into his sweater. “You're pretty cute and all.”

“Well, I figure I have to have something going for me in order to end up so lucky to have someone as gorgeous as you want to be with me.” Wirt adjusted Dipper’s cap for him so he could deepen the kiss without the bill bumping his forehead. “Because you really are. Gorgeous and all mine.”

He laughed, breaking the kiss so his lips could explore his alpha’s face. “I don't know about gorgeous, but I'm definitely all yours. You're-” He broke off to pout, the IV needle pulling at his hand when he tried to wrap his arms around Wirt. He glared at it, eyes hinting at the omega gold as he genuinely considered removing the offending thing from his skin.

A foreign omega’s scent in his home - well Wirt’s home, but Dipper’s mind had shifted to instinct - the invasive chemicals in body, he was stuck downstairs and far away from the comfort of bed, and he was thirsty but didn't want Wirt to move. Dipper whined softly, going from playful and happy to upset without the slightest bit of warning.

“Hey, it's okay.” Wirt shifted closer to accommodate his boyfriend's need and to take his mind off the foreign scent by filling it with his own, taking over in showering his face with kisses. “What do you want? What can I do for you?”

The kisses were a good start, though it took a moment for his eyes to fade to their normal color before his lashes fluttered down. “A soda, you, the injections to be done, you, bed, you, you, and you. That’s what I want. And not moving. I want all this without moving.”

Wirt had to bite back a laugh, his concern melting into pure fondness, though he knew this was more than Dipper being pouty and stubborn. Rubbing their noses together, he was able to temper his instincts with his amusement as he mentally pieced together a plan of sorts. “That's a pretty tall order, but I might be able to manage most of it if you let me move for maybe a minute? You won't have to though, that okay?”

Dipper buried his face in Wirt’s neck, nipping lightly. If he got what he wanted, he was willing to go along with him. “Okay.”

Warmth coiled in his belly and he hummed gently to soothe it as well as Dipper when he pulled away. “Be right back,” he promised with a pat to his thigh. 

Wirt went upstairs first, fetching a pillow from the bed and the comforter. He brought them both downstairs, their scents bundled up in both and radiating comfort and familiarity. They were placed on the chair in the living room, Wirt flashing Dipper a small smile before slipping into the kitchen. He grabbed three cans of soda, one for himself and two if Dipper ended up needing another before the injections were done. He also grabbed an apple while he was there, just in case. Setting them on the coffee table, he pushed it up against the couch after encouraging Dipper to lie back along it length-wise. The pillow was tucked behind his head, the comforter draped over them both as Wirt settled atop him after some less than graceful maneuvering around the coffee table. 

After checking Dipper's hand for the needle, making sure it was still in place, Wirt handed him one of the sodas. “How's this?”

“It took more than a minute, but I love you. So it's okay.” And he had what he wanted with minimal fuss. Dipper smiled, rubbing their noses together before cracking open the can. “Thanks.”

“Anytime. I want to help you make this go as smoothly as possible, you know? I love you. If you're happy, then I'm happy.” Wirt stroked his side as he let him take a swig of his drink before trying to kiss him.

“You say that now, but... mm.” Dipper sank into the kiss, contentment washing through him as he was surrounded so completely by him. The first stirrings of arousal unfurled low in his gut, tendrils of warmth almost unrecognized. Body still unable to fully react, the feeling was as frustrating as it was welcome. “You, um, worried at all? About this week?”

Wirt hesitated a moment before answering, choosing to be open with his omega. “A little, yeah. Mostly just because it's all new to me, too, and I want to make sure it's... good for you. I don't want to mess anything up. What- um. What about you?”

“Kind of, yeah. I don’t know how much is going to be me and how much is going to be instinct, and I've heard some stories from other omegas who didn't remember a single moment of their heats and others have the worst experiences. It's a whole week of complete dependence, and... yeah, that makes me nervous. Even though it won't be exactly the same for me, it still makes me nervous.”

Reaching out, Dipper laid the soda can on the coffee table so he could snuggle properly. His hat was tossed beside it, the omega happy to tuck his head beneath Wirt’s chin. “But I meant what I said. I trust you. I’ll try to be good for you.”

Wirt's lips curved up as he gave him the cuddling he desired, brushing a kiss to his hair. “You're already good for me. I think we'll be okay.”

“There’s a big difference between actually being good and just trying,” Dipper pointed out, nibbling on Wirt’s neck to draw out more of his scent.

“Mm, you're good without trying,” Wirt replied, a soft growl escaping the more his teeth grazed his skin. “Careful. You're gonna make me want you more than I already do if you keep this up.”

“Luckily, you can have me tomorrow. Next day at the latest.” So, wickedly, heart racing at the thought of ignoring his warning, Dipper sank his teeth in firmly.

Wirt sucked in a ragged breath, a sharp spike of arousal sparking low in his abdomen. Instinct had him yearning to bite back, to draw out his scent and mark him, make him whine and writhe beneath him for being obstinate. Instead, Wirt lifted his head, dislodging Dipper's teeth from his neck and wriggled down to nip at his lips. “Okay, now you're being bad,” he teased in between kisses. “I'm not gonna cuddle with you if you're bad.”

Dipper writhed beneath him anyway, but he was laughing rather than whining. “You’re cuddling with me anyway, so I can't be that bad.”

“Because I'm giving you a second chance.” Grinning at him, Wirt rubbed their noses together, then ducked his head and pressed a damp kiss to his neck. “You going to take it, or are you going to test me?” His tongue flicked over his pulse point.

“Mm.” Dipper’s fingers tightened in his sweater, eyes closing as his scent flared with the arousal his body wasn’t yet ready to display. He was torn between continuing to tease him or not, well-aware that Wirt wasn’t the most domineering of alphas. But if he was going to put himself in Wirt’s hands and rely on him for the next week, the displays of trust had to start somewhere. He couldn’t constantly go against Wirt’s wishes or this wouldn’t work.

He shivered, unsure if it was him who wanted this to work more than anything else in his life or his instincts, but it didn’t seem to matter. This was his real mate. Whether by fate or instinct, they were meant. Dipper pressed a kiss to his temple. “I like cuddling too much to risk it.”

Wirt huffed out a laugh against his neck, instincts soothed by his compliance. He enjoyed playing with Dipper like this normally, and in other circumstances would encourage it, but given the way they were reacting to one another's scents, it was for the best their cuddling remained just cuddling for now.

“Good choice,” he hummed, kissing his way back up to his lips. 

Dipper was happy enough to lose himself in the languid kisses, soaking up Wirt’s attentions like an eager sponge as they snuggled close and waited for the IV bag to drain. He was more happy when it was empty and the needle could be removed from his skin. It and the empty bag were disposed of and then the omega, much to his gasping delight, was treated to another one of his alpha’s ideas. This one involved getting carried to bed, which was wonderful enough that Dipper didn’t feel the need to argue when Wirt made him drink an entire bottle of water since he hadn’t had more than half a can of soda the entire day.

He wiggled out of his clothes when Wirt went back to get the pillow and comforter, more comfortable in his boxers while in here. The entire room smelled more like the two of them than any others in the house and it soothed him into compliance and, oddly, a need for sleep.

He never went to sleep early, but as he wrapped around Wirt and listened to him read stanzas of poetry, he found his eyelids growing heavier and ended up drifting off even before the sunset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original prompt from tumblr was: "OK so I don't know if you like the werewolf au things, but what if Dipper was the omega and Wirt the alpha and Dipper goes into heat. (sorry if you don't like these :/ I just love your writing and would love to see this)"
> 
> It turned into a 30 page monstrosity, lol.  
> Chapter two soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT.

When Dipper next awoke, his eyes were pure gold and he was aching with need. He rutted against his alpha, his scent rushing through him, and whined and nipped at him until he awakened. Words were lost to instinct, the need to be touched and petted overtaking all else, even the need for water. Wirt pushed a bottle at him twice and though he did give a cursory protest, it only took a soft growl for him to do as he was told.

He was desperate, obedient, and reacted to every single touch - it was easy enough to see why some alphas would fight for an entire week of it. Wirt just found it to be exhausting and wanted his Dipper back, finding it impossible to tell what the omega actively enjoyed from what his instincts had him accepting as pleasurable. And it had been very hard to refuse knotting him when Dipper had rubbed against him and begged. On the off-chance that Ford had been wrong, Wirt had tried - giving him fingers. It had ended up being enough for him, thankfully, Wirt’s worry rising when his body didn’t open easily like it was supposed to.

Ford hadn’t been wrong about that and, to Wirt’s relief, wasn’t wrong about the second day either. After waking him twice in the night, Dipper awoke with his eyes only hinting at gold. Still riddled with need, he rutted and rubbed them both to completion but actually said Wirt’s name. He was impatient while Wirt had a late breakfast in bed, wrapped around him and only taking drinks from the water bottle when he was told to or glanced at, and his whining had words attached here and there - little utterances of “please” and “hurry” the majority.

The second time Wirt was allowed to get food, Dipper was a little more accommodating. and napped after draining the water bottle. When he awoke, it was to find that Wirt had taken the chance to sleep as well and, for the first time, Dipper saw _Wirt_ and not just his alpha. He rolled atop him, fingers tracing the lines of his face almost hesitantly. It was laughable, considering just how much he’d touched and been touched over a day and a half, but his eagerness to please wasn’t mindless instinct. This was from a simple desire to make someone he loved feel good.

And hopefully get what he’d been denied the day before. “Wirt?” he murmured, lips finding his neck. A little whine chased the word, the sound reaching for Wirt’s instincts.

The alpha stirred, a half-asleep, inquisitive hum his response as he attempted to shift towards where he thought Dipper was, only for the weight of him to register completely when he couldn't roll easily. “Hm? It's okay, Dipper. 'M here.” He lifted his arms, stroking whatever skin he could find as he struggled to blink, waking more quickly than normal to tend to his needs, instincts encouraging his arousal alongside the attention to his neck and Dipper's scent drawing him in.

“Mmhm.” Dipper wriggled against him, nipping gently. Wirt’s body was largely without marks but for the little points where the omega’s nails had dug in. Instinct had held him back from staking a claim thus far, but he had more than that in his mind now, so nipped a little firmer, testing his boundaries. “Are you awake?”

It was suddenly much easier to open his eyes, Wirt's subconscious petting stopping for a second as he gasped, from the bite and the words. He sounded so much more... coherent. Coherent, but still aroused, still needy. “Yeah- yes. I'm up. Are you-? You're claiming me?” His fingers found themselves tangling in his hair as he bared more of his neck to him.

Normally, that would’ve been more than enough permission, but Dipper licked and sucked on the little patch of skin for a moment, keeping his teeth away. “I want- Can I?”

Wirt swallowed, the teasing coaxing what was almost a whine for more from him, but shifted into a soft growl. “ _Yes_. Yes, Dipper, go- go ahead. Yeah.”

With a greedy little noise, he sank his teeth in firmly. He bit and sucked until a bruise formed, tongue running soothingly over the mark. The claim. Wirt’s scent washed over him, heavy and intoxicating, and he shuddered against him, fingers kneading his chest and soon sliding down his sides. “Mine,” he breathed. “Wirt, I want- Mine. Mine, be mine.”

Wirt arched up with a groan, the mark throbbing, his mind and blood swimming with Dipper's scent. “Yours, yes. Always yours.” His hands cupped his boyfriend's waist, steadying him as he rolled them, pinning Dipper beneath him. “And you're always mine,” he breathed, lapping his way into his mouth.

“Yours,” he echoed, that surrender so much more in line with his instincts. His legs lifted, banding around his waist, and his fingers slipped between them to find Wirt’s arousal and knead the sensitive flesh. 

He rocked into his hand, shuddering as his cock twitched and filled under his touch. “Good, Dipper. You're so good. What do you want?” Wirt reached down, feeling for his entrance, brushing the pucker with the pads of his fingers to check if he could open for him, to make sure he could if this was what Dipper wanted. “Tell me what you want, I'll take care of you.”

Whimpering softly, Dipper shivered. He squeezed his length carefully, thumb rubbing against the tip as he arched, so very ready and eager to be taken. “You. I want you. I’ll be so good.” 

Wirt's lips latched onto the column of his throat, greedily sucking and nipping a new mark into his skin, craving his scent. Arousal coiling tight in his belly, he pressed his index finger against and into the welcoming heat Dipper radiated, his heat naturally lubricating him. Wet and hot, Dipper parted for the intrusion with minimal tension. “Sure you can handle it?” Wirt asked, voice strained as he ached to take him, just as ready and instincts thrumming, but he had to make sure, a second finger slipping inside easily.

Not entirely sure, teeth sinking into his lip, but his hips rocked to encourage the fingers. He knew how good Wirt could make him feel with those alone, but he craved more. “Please. I trust you, please.” His hands lifted, burying in his hair.

“Okay. Okay, but you have to tell me if it hurts. You have to.” Wirt lapped at the fresh mark, curling his fingers to bring him more pleasure while his hips bucked in anticipation of being surrounded by him, the friction his fingers provided delicious, but not enough. He lifted his head to find his gaze. “I'm trusting you to.”

Dipper cried out, eyes going blind and gold. Between them, his cock throbbed, dripping wetly onto his stomach. But he shook his head, trying to clear his head enough to respond. “I- I don’t know-” He wasn’t entirely certain if Wirt could hurt him. “I'll tell you. If it does, I'll tell you.”

With a pleased sound, relief and arousal and excitement all swirled together, Wirt sealed their lips together. He withdrew his fingers to grip Dipper's hips, steadying him with a growl as he lined them up, his boyfriend's fingers falling away from his length so he could fill him on one, smooth slide.

Dipper grasped his shoulders, gasping. He took him in easily, slick and malleable with his heat, but the normal part of him recognized that this was new. So very good, but new. Whimpering, he tightened the hold his legs had to keep him in place and locked his fingers behind his neck to pull him closer for a kiss. “Wirt,” he whined. 

“Dipper,” he breathed, rubbing their lips together, mouthing over Dipper’s in an attempt to satisfy his need while he quaked. The heat was so strong, swarming his senses as he was drawn in, Dipper pliant and receptive and perfect. 

Wirt sank in deep, completely sheathed by him, his arousal swelling and throbbing, instinct chomping at the bit to take over. This was his real mate though. The first time for both of them, and while his body ached to take and take, there was a stronger tug that wanted to savor this, to experience their coupling as more than the product of instinct. Wirt kissed him firmly, trying to ease his panting by coating his tongue with the taste of his lover, affection spilling into it while his hips started to rut, starting a rhythm for them before his knot formed, enjoying the way he could move in and out of him and the way Dipper’s walls clenched to cling to him.

Dipper moved with him, eager, pleased sounds spilling into the kiss. He felt so full already, his length so much more than fingers. Knowing there was more to come didn’t frighten him, though, a hand delving into Wirt’s hair to pet and stroke. It was excitement that raced through him, a greedy sense of possession a normal omega wouldn’t feel only adding to it. “I love you,” he managed, breaking the kiss so his lips could explore his alpha’s face. “Love you so much.”

Swept away by the warm, tender attentions, Wirt moaned as he pressed his head into the hand petting him, the kisses peppering his face making his heart race with more than the need to make Dipper his. “I love you, too,” he choked out, his hips rocking faster into a dizzying pace. “You’re so good, Dipper. So good for me.”

Dipper tried to reply, but his voice fell away to pleading noises. His fingers tangled in his hair, gripping the strands as his own hips picked up their rhythm. He wanted to match him beat for beat, give him just as much pleasure as he was being given. And, oh, there was so much. “Please,” he panted. “Please, please, I want it. Want you.” It was entirely against his instincts, but he ducked his head and bit into his neck to leave a fresh mark.

Wirt’s hips stuttered as he groaned, fingers digging into his bouncing hips as he clutched at him, dragging him down on his cock as he thrusted deep. The sting of his teeth and the slick, velvety warmth pulsing around him drew him closer to the edge, losing his mind to Dipper’s pleasure and sensations his omega was able to drown him in. His next thrust was just as deep, knot pressing against the quivering muscles as it started to swell inside him.

Gasping, Dipper held tighter to his hair. His other hand desperately sought purchase on his back, slipping over sweat-slicked skin. “Good, good, so good, please...!” It made it harder for him to move, but he could hold on and encourage his alpha with breathless outcries and nipping teeth. His tongue flicked over the fresh mark, panted breaths hot on Wirt’s neck. “Wirt-!” 

The babbled praise and the way his fingers scrabbled at him had his eyes flickering red for a moment as he lifted his hips higher for a better angle to drive into. “That’s it, Dipper. That’s it, yes- just let me take you, just feel good,” he murmured lowly, Dipper’s tongue hot against already heated skin, another moan falling from his lips. “You’re mine. I’m gonna give you everything.” Unable to slide in and out with his knot locking them together, Wirt rolled his hips, grinding in hard and deep as one hand released his hip to curl his fingers around the length weeping between them and gave it firm tug. 

“Yours. I'm yours.” Now more than ever. More than he'd ever belong to anyone else. His eyes flickered gold in response, head falling back on a low moan. Hips rolling, he could feel Wirt everywhere. So incredibly close already, the change in angle had him seeing stars. “Wirt! Wirt, please, ah!” He wanted it to last, but knew it wouldn't. It couldn’t - not with his mate filling him so completely or touching him so beautifully. Dipper couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe as mindless mewls spilled from him and his world narrowed to pure sensation.

“Dipper- Dipper!” He hadn’t thought he could clench around him any tighter, or that his body could open for him and take him so well, but he was and it was driving him mad. Wirt buried his face against Dipper’s bared neck, inhaling his intoxicating, overwhelming scent. It mingled with the scent of them as they rubbed together, clinging to one another as they rocked through their mutual pleasure. Reaching his peak faster than he’d expected, caught up in Dipper’s skin, his taste, his scent, his heat engulfing every inch of him and fueling the fire of his own need, Wirt twitched and jerked out of rhythm. Breathless gasps shifted into possessive growls as his teeth sank into his neck, breaking on a single whimper as his release crashed into him, filling his mate up with his seed.

Dipper came the second he felt the hot streaks bathing his walls, his release coating Wirt’s hand and their stomachs. He couldn’t stop himself, overwhelmed. His growls, his touch, his teeth, the scent that seemed to only grow stronger the longer they were joined - they combined into something he couldn’t explain and couldn't resist. His instincts begged to succumb, so he answered the whimper with a little whine and accepted him and the imprint this would leave behind. He would always carry Wirt’s scent, only Wirt’s. His alpha, his real mate.

Wirt continued to stroke Dipper’s length, milking his release from him as his omega’s channel milked his in return, until both were thoroughly spent. His knot kept it all inside Dipper, kept him nice and full and left them connected as Wirt lowered his hips and relinquished his bruising grip to slump atop him. He nuzzled his neck, tongue laving gently over where his teeth claimed him, lapping at him long after the urge to soothe had been sated. 

Dipper relaxed against the pillows, lifting heavy limbs to stroke his back. “Okay...” He tried to stretch, lips curving into a blissful smile when Wirt shifted just a little inside of him. His entire body pulsed with pleasure, heady scent leaving no question as to whether or not he'd enjoyed their joining. “Mm... I get it now.”

“Yeah,” Wirt sighed against his skin, breathing in his scent deeply. “Oh my god, Dipper, that was… I love you. I really do.” Petting along his side, Wirt nestled as close as he possibly could, enjoying Dipper’s hands on him when they were gentle just as much as he had when they were desperately trying to hold onto him. The hand Dipper had spilled over on was lifted to Wirt’s lips, something about his mate’s seed enticing enough for him to clean it with his tongue, his scent powerful and concentrated. “You feeling okay? Not too stretched?” he asked between licks, wanting to check even if Dipper appeared to be thrumming with bliss. 

“Uh-huh.” Dipper watched him with wide eyes, cheeks flushed. Biting his lip, he made small motions with his hips, unable to move the way he wanted to. “What?”

His breath hitched, hand falling from his lips. Though the motions not what Dipper wanted, they still affected Wirt and had his hips rolling of their own accord, too sensitive not to, and he shifted within him. “Mm- I- I asked if you feel okay,” he repeated, with a soft chuckle, meeting Dipper’s wide gaze. “Pretty sure you do though.” He reached between them and rubbed his abdomen in an attempt to appease his need to move.

“Yeah. Um. I'm fine. Good.” Dipper wanted to keep moving, heat letting the arousal come quickly. But the touch helped him settle enough to give Wirt time to catch up. His fingers traced little patterns over his back. “I was going somewhere when I started talking, but I really don't remember what I was talking about. You’re... wow.”

It wasn’t taking long for Wirt to catch up at all with Dipper’s scent appealing to his instincts, arousal flaring in his belly, but he held off rocking into him for a minute to reach for one of the bottles of water on the nightstand. “You’re pretty wow, too. Here, take a couple sips for me first, then I’ll give you whatever you want, promise.” He pushed up on his elbows to twist off the cap, then held it to his lips. 

He started to protest, water seeming so unimportant when his alpha's scent had spiked so temptingly, but being given whatever he wanted seemed like a fair trade for a few sips. As he drank, he clenched around Wirt’s length, rocking upwards as if he could possibly take him deeper, and his eyes flashed gold and smug when the plastic crinkled under the alpha's tightened grip. “Can I have what I want now?”

Wirt growled, eyes flickering red in response. He twitched inside him and rolled his hips purposefully, slow and dragging along his walls as he capped the bottle. If the need pouring from Dipper in waves wasn’t enough to have him ready for round two, then the smug look that sent pleasant shivers down Wirt’s spine and heat churning low in his gut certainly was. “Mmhm. Yeah you can. You were so good drinking your water for me, I think you deserve what you want.”

“I want you, Wirt. I want my alpha.” He shivered, pleased that it had worked and greedy for attention. What he understood now was why other omegas bragged about their heats and delighted in their impending cycles. Everything felt incredible. From fingertips to lips, every way Wirt touched him was nothing short of spellbinding. And the way their scents flared, setting off chain reactions in one another, were little spells all their own, encouraging them to get lost in one another. To please one another.

Was he pleasing Wirt? His instincts tugged at him, Dipper ducking his head to brush kisses over the marks he'd left. A good omega would never leave a mark during heat, but he wasn't a good, normal omega. The kisses turned into soft licks, tongue lapping gently at the bites. He'd promised to try and be good for Wirt during this, but he wasn't entirely certain what that entailed now that he wasn't swimming in mindless instinct. “Am I... am I being good?”

The noises Dipper coaxed out of Wirt softened into purrs. The alpha tilted his head to expose the marks to him, coming back to himself a bit at his mate’s hesitance. “You’re so good, Dipper. Better than good,” he assured him, stroking his fingers over his chest as his hips began to rut in a steady rhythm, pleasure immediate and dizzying. “You’re everything I could ever want.”

It was difficult to be insecure with his mate’s pleasure so heavy in the air, every gasped inhale a new layer of proof that he was absolutely pleasing his alpha. More importantly, he was pleasing Wirt. Wirt wasn’t quite like other alphas. Dipper’s own hips began to move, deliciously hampered by the knot still stretching him so wide, filling him so perfectly. His hesitance melted in the heat the movement inspired, and his teeth found Wirt’s shoulder to leave a mark his instincts didn’t shy away from. “Mine,” he hummed.

“Yours,” Wirt panted, shuddering from the attention Dipper’s mouth paid his skin. His length pressed deep and hard with each jerk of his hips, throbbing as it remained locked inside the tight, slick heat. One hand slid along his side, up to knead his thigh, legs still wrapped around his waist, clinging to him like he was all he really needed. “Just want to be yours.”

“Yes. Mine, always mine.” Dipper laved the fresh mark with his tongue. “Wirt,” he whimpered, muscles clenching to try and please him more. His hands ran through his hair to run down his back and back up. “I love you. Love you so much.”

“Dipper…” Wirt buried his face in Dipper’s sweat-dampened hair, nuzzling him and nipping at his ear, breathless moans ghosting over it. He trembled, arousal heightened and only growing more heady and intoxicating the more Dipper clenched and pulled him in, muscles fluttering around his knot, craving everything he had to offer. Wirt wanted to offer him everything, gaze dark and hazy as he focused on pounding into that sweet spot. 

His hips bucked faster, the beautiful friction, the push and pull of Dipper’s body exhilarating. He was already so full with him, full and wet and open, but it was like he wanted more and it drove Wirt wild just to think about keeping him writhing on his knot, begging for more, over and over again, filled to the brim so he could finally be satisfied, only able to imagine how pleased Dipper would be with his scent after their first joining all he had to go by. “Dipper,” his name more of a sob as it left his lips. “Love you- love you and the way you take me and your mouth- I love your mouth, I- ah- ah… yes-” Wirt babbled, tongue tracing the curve of his ear. 

Dipper cried out, writhing helplessly beneath him. Every motion brought blinding pleasure, his length throbbing between them, leaking steadily even without attention. “Wirt! Wirt, please, feels- You feel so-” On a low moan, he bit him again, teeth finding a fresh place on his neck. His growl was soft and unthreatening, but it held the same possessive edge his scent suddenly flared with. “Only you, so good. So- so- Wirt...!”

Wirt gasped, inhaling more of that staggering scent, instincts giving into the growl nonetheless as he whimpered and drowned in the possession. He wanted to be wanted, claimed and belonging only to the omega under him. His. “My Dipper- mine, want you- want only you-! Please!” The request spilled out, hidden beneath domineering instinct. “Stay- stay mine!”

He didn’t lose the frantic edge, hiking him up further, blunt nails biting into the meat of his thigh while his abdomen brushed Dipper’s length, hot, wet streaks coating it as he forced himself not to touch him just yet. The steady build-up of pure pleasure and mindless sensation felt stronger this second time and he wanted it to last even with his cock twitching and knot so swollen and caught between Dipper’s clenching muscles. 

“Yours, yours, always yours, I’ll- ah!” The surrender felt as good as the dominance, the give and take between them as staggering as the way his mate felt inside him. “Wirt,” he sobbed, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes as he reached up to stroke and pet every bit of skin he could reach. “Perfect. You’re perfect. Love you. I- Wirt!” He shimmied lower, practically folding himself in half, heels hiking higher on his back. “ _Wirt_!” he wailed, mindless mewls spilling out.

Each wrecked utterance of his name dragged Wirt closer to the edge, the sounds his mate made just as drugging as his constant touch. Wirt lost himself to his hands, his fingertips stroking, everywhere, all his most sensitive places alight with Dipper’s touch. Only Dipper’s. Only he could make him feel this way, like he could give in to him, like he didn’t have to be in constant control. Wirt rolled his hips over and over, gasping and hiccuping as his eyes went blind, jerking helplessly in Dipper’s grip for more - more, more, _more_ \- until he cried out his name and slammed into him. 

He came hard, his release pulsing into him as he shuddered and rocked through the blissful sensation. Through his high, he pawed at Dipper, pads of his fingers catching over his nipples, the dips of his hips, his smooth waist, his rigid length. Oh, he had to touch it. He was so wet, weeping for him, for attention. Dipper’s cock was so hot in his hand, his balls tight beneath them. He palmed them, hips still rutting to give him whatever pleasure he could as he spent himself.

It took Dipper seconds to follow, head falling back on a wail of Wirt's name as his release streaked their stomachs. His hands clutched at his shoulders, desperate for the anchor as the orgasm tore through him. His hips bucked desperately, trapped by the knot, and slowly settled to gentle rocking.

“Wirt,” he breathed, nuzzling him as he came down from the dizzying high. “So good.”

“Dipper,” Wirt purred, gently petting every inch of him he could reach. “I love you so much.” His lips brushed his cheek as he sought Dipper’s mouth to kiss him soundly, sinking into it with a pleased sigh. 

Dipper lapped at his tongue, arms wrapping around him to stroke and knead his back. He was smiling when it ended, sated for the moment. Sated and very, very pleased. He’d gotten very lucky with his mate. “I thought- You like when I bite you.”

Wirt hummed as he snuggled atop him, enjoying the warmth and their closeness in the lull of the heat. “I like feeling like I’m just as much yours as you are mine,” he murmured and traced nonsensical shapes against his side. “Like you want me so much, you can’t control it and just… have to bite me, even if instinct says you shouldn’t.”

He nodded. “Mmhm. I'm not supposed to. I can feel my instincts saying no every time I start to, but you like it and... I really do. I think of you as mine. My alpha, my mate. I like having marks to show that, y’know?”

“Yeah.” Wirt’s lips curved as he brushed them over one of the bruises that had blossomed on Dipper’s neck. “I know. You can leave marks on me whenever you want. Don’t know if that’ll help your instincts at all, but it makes me happy. I like being yours.”

“It helps, yeah. They're mostly just saying to do whatever you want, whatever makes you happy.” Dipper’s eyes closed on a contented sigh. “That’s easy since, well, I actually do just want to make you happy, but it doesn't leave a lot of room for me to just... try stuff. Like claiming you and growling at you.” He shifted, legs tired of the position, but stuck until the knot keeping them connected faded. “I like being equal to you, though. I like us belonging to each other rather than just me being yours.”

“I like that, too.” Propping himself up as much as he could while locked within him, Wirt let his gaze rove over his face, heart swelling with the sheer amount of love he felt for him and how much he felt like he belonged with him. He reached for Dipper’s thighs again to knead the muscles that would surely by stiff once he uncurled, dropping a kiss to his collarbone. “It’s… it’s what I’ve always wanted. I used to think there must’ve been some mistake, that I shouldn’t have been an alpha. I didn’t have what it took to be a good one. But I’m thinking, maybe, I was just meant to be a good alpha for you. I want to try stuff with you. If you want to claim me or growl at me or… you know… that, um, other thing you can do. I want you to feel like you have that freedom, because you do with me. Because I love you and I want you to be happy, too.”

“So you're basically the kind of alpha I've been told a million times doesn't actually exist.” With a grin, Dipper toyed with his hair, mussing the wild strands further. “I really love you. You're exactly what it takes to be my alpha. All mine.”

Wirt laughed, rubbing his scrunched up nose against his shoulder as he let him play with his hair. “You know, that’s just the kind of alpha I want to be. All yours.” He could feel Dipper becoming looser around him, waiting a moment before attempting to ease out of him. “Hang on, this is going to be a bit messy. Probably.” Wirt lifted his head to kiss him softly as he slid out.

He whined into the kiss, the sound automatic and instinctive. It was for the best that he move for both their sakes, but he still didn't want him to leave. Both him and his instincts craved the connection and really didn't enjoy the stretched, empty feeling left behind. It didn’t help that it was absolutely messy. “Next time, we're doing a different position.”

“Yeah we are. Gotta give those gorgeous thighs of yours a break.” Wirt grinned, peppering more, light kisses over his face as he gave one of his legs a pat. “And you don’t have to whine. We both know I’ll be back inside you soon enough. You’ll be sick of me by the end of the week.”

“I don't think so. You have no idea, man. I don’t really know if it's you or the heat - it might be both, but everything you do is right.” He stretched, humming softly. “Except pulling out. That’s the worst.”

“Sorry.” Wirt nuzzled him, though found it difficult to feel too apologetic when Dipper's praise had warmth flooding him, unable to help wriggling as he shifted to lay beside him and give him more room to stretch. “Not sure if there's much I can do about that, but I'll make a note that it's one of my ‘needs improvement’ areas.”

He rolled onto his side, wrapping an arm around Wirt’s waist. Staying as close as possible was important, still basking in the afterglow and already feeling the flutters of anticipation for what would happen next. His fingers played over his hip, lips falling to his neck to nibble lightly. “It’s a very short list.”

Wirt bundled him close, rubbing his back as he breathed him in, his scent bathing him in his mate’s contentment. “Good to know.” His fingers found the small of his back and pressed in, kneading away any soreness that might have resulted from their joining. “I’m glad you’re back,” he confided quietly, giving him a squeeze with one arm. “I missed you yesterday. I mean, I know I had you and everything, and of course I didn’t mind taking care of you, it’s just… it’s nice to hear your voice.”

“Mm. Yeah. I'm glad I don't have to be like that the whole week.” He nuzzled him, tucking a leg between Wirt’s. “I'd much rather talk to you. And bite you,” he added with a smile he hid in the curve of his mate’s neck.

“Oh my gosh,” Wirt laughed again, the last bit startling him out of the more solemn sentiments. He rubbed his leg over Dipper’s, then nipped at his ear. “Bite me then. Pick a spot and just go for it.”

Dipper looked up, but only hesitated a moment before nuzzling his neck again. This time, his tongue rubbed over the spot before his teeth sank in with a greedy little growl. The omega instincts still recoiled, but the desire to please Wirt ruled. The desire to please himself certainly helped, and the way Wirt’s scent flared was particularly pleasing. He breathed him in, nipping and sucking a hickey into his skin.

With a soft gasp, Wirt clutched Dipper tighter. His growl rippled through him, instincts and desire tumbling over one another. Part of him was ready to submit, eager to let Dipper take the reins and happy to hear his claim. The other part was ready to growl back and challenge him, roll with him on the bed, pawing at each other until one emerged victorious, with the right to take the other. It had his head spinning in the best possible way. In the midst of his uncertainty, Dipper’s teeth worked at his neck, drawing out more of his scent and encouraging submission. It helped that he knew this was what they both wanted, and that Dipper would need his own encouragement since fighting his instincts couldn’t be easy either. He let his head fall back, showering him with vocal appreciation, whimpers and moans falling from him easily as his fingers carded through Dipper’s hair.

Dipper moaned against his neck, tongue brushing soothingly over the mark before he broke the skin. “Oh my god,” he breathed, trembling against his lover. He lifted his head to study it, awed to see it and eager to place another. For the moment, he couldn’t, unable to challenge his instincts further. “Mine. You’re so mine.”

“Mmhm. Yours. Only yours.” Wirt had to take a moment to catch his breath, inhaling his heady scent with each hitch of his chest. He framed Dipper's face with his hands, thumbing over his cheeks as he claimed his lips for a deep kiss.

Dipper melted against him, soothed by the alpha's obvious enjoyment. The physical display as important during this week as the sounds and scent of him. “You’re the best alpha. My pretty alpha,” he murmured, nudging him onto his back and crawling atop him to sink back into the kiss.

“My beautiful mate.” Wirt caressed Dipper's cheeks again before banding his arms around his neck, pulling him close. His fingers tangled in the curls near the nape of his neck, tugging as he arched up and moaned against his lips, lapping into his mouth with eager swipes of his tongue.

Eager for another round, arousal thrumming hot in his veins and prominent in his scent, Dipper rutted against him and kissed back greedily to sweep them both away.

****

\----

****

Dipper’s increased awareness didn’t alter much, need running high through the remaining days of his cycle. When first waking or when fighting the need for sleep, he slipped back into the mindless submission, but both enjoyed themselves when he was fully awake and able to vocalize his desires and, more often, his praises.

Only once did he try to leave bed, grumpy and stubborn over being confined to the space, but he didn’t make it very far. The room they were in smelled too tempting, and Wirt’s arms around his waist and lips pressed to the back of his neck had drawn him back before he'd made it to the door.

It was exhausting, but very worth every bit of embarrassment and discomfort he'd felt before the week had started. His alpha was perfectly suited to the way his personality and instincts warred, accommodating and patient and so very biteable. When the last day came, bringing Dipper the aches and pains and sensitivity a solid week of constant mating wrought, Wirt was as covered in marks as the omega.

That, too, was worth it, Dipper shivering with cold and watching Wirt slowly awaken. The intense need had passed, his body literally cooling in the aftermath. The air conditioning that had kept him from overheating was now going to freeze him to death, but the alpha was too sweet to resist watching him fight the urge to awaken for the day. Lips curved, he laid on his side and waited quietly. Neither of them had gotten much sleep over the week.

It was the shivering that woke him though, the tremors traveling through the omega and against the mattress. Wirt pressed closer to him, instinctively attempting to share his body heat with him by wrapping him up in his arms and tangling their legs together, only for the chill of his skin to rouse him fully from sleep. Wirt’s brow furrowed as he blinked open heavy lids, rubbing his hands over Dipper’s back to create friction and stimulate some heat. 

“Need more blankets?” he asked, still a little foggy from just waking up, gaze lingering on his mate’s smile.

“Maybe.” Dipper rubbed their lips together, snuggling as close as he could in search of warmth. For the first time in days it didn't inspire a rush of arousal. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Wirt murmured against his lips, happy to cuddle with him and ease his shivering. It hit him when he inhaled his scent, still appealing and still perfect, but the headiness and desperate need was gone. His eyes widened, awareness filling his gaze as he looked him over. “Oh- hi! Hey, you’re- how’re you feeling-? Oh, the air’s still- I should go get that. Do you want me to turn it off? And stop babbling. You probably want me to stop babbling, too, sorry. I’m just- yeah. Hi.”

Dipper laughed softly, giving him a firm kiss. “Nah. I like your babbling.” He pet his chest, content despite his continued shivering. “Probably need to turn the air down, though. And blankets. And maybe a bath.” He grinned, shrugging. “I want a lot.”

“So demanding.” The kiss had relaxed him some, the gentle petting and grin inspiring his own easy smile as he teased him, rubbing their noses together. His scrunched upon contact, Dipper’s fairly cold, like the rest of him. “How about I turn down the air, then start a bath? We’ll get you all clean and into some clothes before piling blankets on top of you.”

“Okay. As long as you're a part of the bath and cuddle under the pile of blankets. Oh! And an apple. I would seriously really like an apple.”

“Well, good thing we have plenty of apples.” Wirt laughed, patting his mate’s smooth, flat stomach. “Yeah, I’m definitely part of the bath and cuddling. Really feeling the need for a bath. And I should probably throw these sheets in the laundry while we’re at it.” He pressed his lips to Dipper’s, while he tucked the covers around his shoulders, bundling him up. “Want the apple before or after bathtime?”

“Mm...” Dipper ran his tongue over his teeth as he considered, deciding that he just had the best alpha ever. “After. Unless you’re hungry now.” 

“I can wait.” Wirt arched his back, stretching out the muscles that had grown stiff with sleep. “I’d rather have a bath first.” 

He wriggled his way out of bed without disturbing too much of Dipper’s blanket cocoon, having to climb over him to get out made that especially tricky, and shivered himself when he was bared to the cool air. His face, however, warmed considerably when he became fairly conscious of his nakedness with Dipper’s mind completely and fully functioning once again, but there was really no point in dressing just to end up in a bath minutes later. At least the thermostat was just outside in the hall, he didn’t have to go far to turn up the heat in the house so it would be comfortable for Dipper. Hot water from the bath would do him wonders, too. 

Fetching a fresh set of sheets and blankets from the hall closet while he was out there, Wirt carried them back into the room and set them on top of the dresser. Their scents hit him almost instantly just from walking out of the room for a second, comfortable and mingling like they were meant to. Taking a look at Dipper, all snuggled up in bed still, Wirt found it hard to resist flopping back onto the bed and curling up with him, instincts craving cuddling and closeness now in the wake of the onslaught of hormones. Luckily for Dipper, his instincts also craved coddling and caring for his mate, and him lying around in bed right now wouldn’t accomplish that. 

After disappearing into the attached bathroom to start the water, Wirt came back and went to Dipper’s side to playfully nudge him. “Get up so I can strip the bed.”

“I've discovered the downside to getting what I want. Why is there always a downside?” Dipper sighed dramatically, dragging a blanket with him so he could stay bundled in it, but waited patiently for Wirt to remove sheets that would likely never come completely clean. They probably wouldn't be used until his next heat, the thought of which sending a fresh shiver down his spine. As pleasant as it had been, he wasn’t ready for another anytime soon.

“I thought you were looking forward to finally leaving the bed,” Wirt teased, balling up the sheets and pillowcases in his arms to cart into the laundry room. 

“That was then. This is the very sad and very cold now,” Dipper defended with a shivery huff.

“Oh no. My poor, sad, cold mate. That’s just unacceptable.” Exaggerated sympathy shone on his face. “The water should be warm now if you want to check on it while I take care of this. Maybe that will help with the cold part of your problem.”

“Might as well since you're leaving anyway.” His grin flashed, as wicked as his gaze. “Watching you wander around here naked is a nice perk.”

His blush filled his cheeks again. “Yeah, well,” he fumbled to reply, hugging the sheets to try and cover up what he could. “You’re naked, too.” It was a dumb reply, but it was hard to think of anything better with that gleam in Dipper’s eyes. “Never mind. Go back to being sad and cold, I can handle that better.”

“But I want to be happy and not cold.” Dipper crossed over, having to take a hold of his shoulder when his first attempt to lift up to his toes had been protested by weak knees. He managed on the second try, pressing a kiss to one of his reddened cheeks. “Looking at my gorgeous mate helps with that.”

Wirt wrapped an arm around his waist to help steady him, letting the linens slip some so he could keep him close. “Fine. You’re just lucky I also want you to be happy and not cold.” He turned his head to rub their lips together. With a light squeeze, he stepped away from him so he could quickly throw the load in the wash and get back to Dipper’s side for their bath, still blushing though as he turned his back on him, knowing his eyes were still on him. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Okay, okay. Here.” Dipper added the blanket to the pile, shuddering as the chilly air assaulted him before escaping into the bathroom. He’d been resistant to the baths Wirt had bundled him into before, spending most of the first trapped on Wirt’s knot so he'd stay in place.

He smiled at the thought of it now, even though the idea of a repeat had him whimpering softly. It was easier to forget his aches when Wirt was around, the alpha's presence soothing, but alone his body had no trouble reminding him that he’d spent the past week being very thoroughly and rather constantly loved on by his mate.

He tested the water, relieved to find it hot, and stopped the drain before climbing in, seeking the warmth as the tub began to fill. A bath, cuddling, and maybe a day or two of recovery, and he’d be right back to normal.

Wirt joined him when the water was just below the overflow drain. His legs settled on either side of him, chest pressed to his back as he fit himself in behind him. The water sloshed up a bit, some of it draining as he reached to turn off the faucet. 

“Warm enough for you?” He pressed his lips to his temple, arms banding around his middle.

“Mmhm. Yeah. This is already a million times better.” Dipper relaxed against his mate, sighing. “You start the washer?”

“Yep. Should be done by the time we’re out, so I’ll put it in the dryer while you’re eating your apple.” His fingertips stroked over his abdomen under the water, the touches light and loving, the scent emanating from him nothing but content. 

“I haven't missed food at all until I woke up this morning, and all I could think of was an apple. And then I realized it was freezing cold.” Dipper tipped his head back, resting it on his shoulder.

Wirt continued to pet him with one hand, reaching for the soap with the other. “Mm, I’ll make you something else to eat after the apple. Something nice and warm. Like macaroni and cheese.” He started to rub the soap against his chest, massaging the suds into his skin.

Enjoying the pampering touch, Dipper let his eyes close on a purr-like sound. “That sounds really, seriously good. Maybe after a nap, though. I feel like I've got zero energy, but I want to hang out with you in the kitchen. At least now I get why omegas get so excited when their cycles start, but that was exhausting.”

“I believe it. This week definitely wore me out, I can only imagine how you must be feeling.” Wirt pressed a kiss to the column of his throat, pleased by his purrs. “You were so good though, you deserve some rest. We’ll take a nap, then you can bother me in the kitchen. I’ve missed that.”

“I've missed getting food out of bothering you in the kitchen.” Dipper wriggled happily against him. “But you were good too, you know. You definitely earned some sleep.”

“We can spend the next few days catching up on all our well-deserved sleep then. Seriously, nothing sounds better than just curling up with you and getting at least six hours of solid sleep in.” His laugh was huffed against his neck, little nibbles accompanying the kisses he peppered there, his knees bending so his legs could wrap around him.

Humming, tilting his head to bare his neck to the attentions. “Yeah. Let’s do that. Food and sleep and cuddling - obviously a winning combination.”

“Mmhm,” Wirt purred against his skin, drowning in his scent as he drew more of it out, practically drugged into complacent lethargy by it. “Especially when you’re added into the mix. I don’t think I could ever have enough of you.” He soaped up more of his body. Fingers played over his nipples, skimmed over his sides, and dipped into his belly button, cleaning every inch thoroughly now that he didn’t have to fight him and his instincts to do so.

Dipper let out a pleased noise, little tendrils of warm arousal coursing through him. It was nice to feel them and not be compelled to act on them. He simply enjoyed them, enjoyed having Wirt so close. “I'm so glad it was you.”

“Mm?” Wirt nuzzled his cheek on an inquisitive sound, washing his legs with the same care he had his torso. 

“My real mate. I'm really glad it ended up being you. There’s no one else I can imagine being with.”

Wirt smiled into the kiss he brushed to his cheek. “I’m glad it was you, too. Thank you for calling me. Thank you for wanting me still even before you knew I was yours.” 

“Maybe I knew the whole time. I mean, I've wanted to be around you since we met. Could've been an instinctive thing and not just a really shallow ‘he's cute and smells good.’” Dipper sought his lips, smiling through the kiss. “Even though you really are cute and smell good.”

“You’re cute and smell good, too,” Wirt chuckled against his lips before sinking into a deeper one, caressing the back of Dipper’s knee with soapy fingers, spreading the suds. “I think we both kinda knew there was something special between us from the start. On some level, anyway.”

It tickled a little, so he squirmed and giggled breathlessly into the kiss. “I think so. You’re definitely special.”

“Especially in love with you.” Wirt grinned, tickling him more purposefully to keep him giggling. “My adorable, real, forever mate.”

Dipper tried to stifle the embarrassing sound, but it escaped as he wiggled against his lover. There was really nowhere for him to go but out of the tub entirely, and he didn't find the thought of leaving Wirt to be a good one. Tickling fingers and all, he wanted to stay close and bask in the words.

That wasn't instinct, unable to be fought. That was being absolutely in love. Dipper would so much rather be here and wrapped up in the playful affection than anywhere else. He wanted to be where the scent and feel of his love permeated the air. His real, forever mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so much fun to write, lol. I really love werewolf!aus and it really surprised me while writing this just how many headcanons I’d developed for them!! I’m a dork :D
> 
> And I really appreciate skimmingthesurface for going along with my crazy headcanons to help me get this written for you all to read!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed c:


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